Israeli intelligence services planned to assassinate Khalid Meshaal, the head of the political wing of Hamas, sources in Gaza told Aljazeera.

According to the report, Mossad, sent last month a team to the Syrian capital to carry out the killing, Hamas sources disclosed on Wednesday quoting "Western intelligence sources". Meshaal is operating from Damascus.

Mossad agents allegedly posed as volunteers for relief organizations visiting Syria to help refugees from the war in Lebanon, the sources added. Aljazeera has learnt that the Hamas leader had stepped up his personal security since the plot.

In 1997, Meshaal survived a botched assassination attempt while he was living in Jordan. Mossad agents disguised as Canadians injected poison into his ear in the street.